


Strangers

by orphan_account



Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-28 19:51:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8460775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Myungsoo welcomes two new strangers into his life: the stranger next door and the strange stranger on the bus.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fIavea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fIavea/gifts), [Essence29](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Essence29/gifts).



Myungsoo likes his apartment. It’s cheap and spacious enough for him, he doesn’t have to struggle to pay for it with the help of his parents. It only has one room, which is enough for him because he doesn’t live with anyone else and doesn’t plan to. Sure the apartment is old and pretty rusty, and sometimes he thinks there is a ghost living along with him, but in the end, he thinks that he likes the apartment. But no matter how much he loves the apartment, of course, there is always that one thing that he doesn’t like about the apartment.

The wall is so damn thin.

The occupants of the apartment next to him used to be a couple and almost every day, Myungsoo would be able to hear them doing the do. He doesn’t know if they realized that he could hear them or not, probably not, but the sounds made him unable to concentrate on studying, and it drove him crazy because it made him feel awkward, making feel like a creepy person for listening. If they were not having sex, then sometimes they would fight which irritated Myungsoo even more with all the yellings. When they finally moved out of that apartment, Myungsoo had to try to look not too happy when they said their goodbye to him. He had to remind himself that he would miss their free foods that they often gave him.

After that, his life in the apartment is  peaceful. He can study without being disturbed, and his surrounding was quite. He could sleep well, too, not having to wake up because people were screaming from the room next door.

Now, though, his quiet night is finally disturbed again as he lies on his bed, eyes widely open and staring at the brown ceiling, listening to the cries that come from the other side of the wall. Myungsoo doesn’t even realize that the apartment now is finally occupied again because it has been soundless, except for tonight. Thankfully Myungsoo doesn’t have anything to do so the crying doesn’t interfere with any important tasks. And the crying also doesn’t annoy him even if it prevents him from sleeping. The crying makes him feel bad for the person, instead.

He is pretty sure that it’s a guy who is crying. The guy doesn’t wail or anything, the sobs are loud several minutes ago but Myungsoo figures that he has gotten tired, so his crying gets quieter. But he is still crying, and it makes Myungsoo wants to console him, even if he doesn’t know the guy. The problem is: he never has to try consoling someone.

“Excuse me.” Myungsoo says with several knocks to the wall, finally, after contemplating whether it’s a good idea to ask or not, he decides to ask anyway, “But are you okay?”

There is no answer, but Myungsoo can hear the guy sniffling. He waits, wondering if the guy can hear him or not. If it turns out it’s only him who can hear the other side then it’s not a wonder that the couple who used to live there was pretty shameless.

But he finally hears an answer, “That’s a pretty stupid question, you know.”

Myungsoo shrugs even though the guy can’t see it and he admits that it was a stupid question. But he doesn’t know how to ask a stranger why is he crying. He can ask right away, but that’s too awkward when they haven’t even talked to each other yet.

“I figured that I still should ask.”

The guy sniffles again.

“Thank you for asking.” He says, genuinely despite calling Myungsoo’s question stupid earlier, “Sorry, I didn’t know you could hear me.”

"You’re welcome, and it’s okay,” Myungsoo says, nodding. He doesn’t talk again, thinking whether he should ask the question on his mind or not. But he figures that there is no harm in asking, so he does end up asking, “Did something bad happen to you?”

“No, I am just having a self-pity party.” The guy said, this time with a weak, self-deprecating laugh, “Wants to join?”

Myungsoo thinks for a while, wondering if he can have a self-pity party now. But he is pretty satisfied with his current life, so he doesn’t think he deserves to do a self-pity party. He is currently jumbling school and work, but it’s not that hard since he doesn’t have a lot of classes. His family is alright, he has some close friends, and he doesn’t struggle with anything. It feels like if he throws himself a pity party, it will be pathetic of him.

“I don’t have anything to pity myself for,” Myungsoo says. He hopes he doesn’t sound smug—it’s just a fact.

“Really?” The guy asked in disbelief, “You have never gone through something bad?”

“Hm.” Myungsoo tries to think of something, but he can only think of one thing, “My ex-boyfriend cheated on me two years ago, but I have moved on.”

It was a horrible experience. But Myungsoo has learned his lesson—he has to be wary of people and not being clingy to people around him even though honestly he just wants to shower them with love. He never asks his ex-boyfriend why, afraid of knowing the truth and feeling that it’s his fault.

“Are you dating right now?” The guys ask after hearing his answer, sounding curious and not asking just for the sake of it.

"Well, no." Myungsoo says, "It’s not my top priority now."

Well, yeah, after his last relationship, he is somewhat wary of starting a new one. But having a boyfriend is not that important anymore. Myungsoo has learned that there are so many more important things other than a relationship.

“I see.” They guy says. He doesn’t seem to be crying anymore even though his voice still sounds funny after crying and he is having a runny nose now, "You have nothing to pity yourself for?"

“No.” Myungsoo says, confident, “I am living a pretty good life.”

The guy sighs and says, “I am envious.”

Myungsoo feels bad hearing that, he doesn’t mean to make the guy feels jealous. But it’s not like he can lie, no? He leans on the wall, accidentally knocking his head, but he recovers quickly. He hopes the guy doesn’t hear. That will ruin the mood.

“Do you have a hard life?” Myungsoo asks, feeling curious when he hears the guy complains. He wonders what kind of person his new neighbor is. Hopefully a good one, someone that he can befriend.

The guy chuckles, “You’re so straightforward.”

“No, I am not really,” Myungsoo says. He has never thought of himself as straightforward, “So…?”

"I won’t say that I live a hard life, more people have a harder life than me." The guy answers and Myungsoo nods, not because he agrees with what the guy is saying, he doesn’t even know how the guy’s life is like, it’s just a habit, "But sometimes I just want to pity myself and cry because I don’t have anyone to talk to."

“I see.”

Myungsoo can understand that. It must be frustrating not being able to vent out your thoughts, your emotions. Myungsoo is glad that he still has people to talk to.

“I guess the wall is thinner than I thought since you can hear me crying.” The guy says, knocking the wall hard as if he is testing it and Myungsoo hopes the guy won’t try anything more because he doesn’t want the wall to get ruined. He especially doesn’t want the wall to break down on him.

“You’re pretty loud.” Myungsoo points out, unable to filter what is coming out of his mouth, “But yeah, the wall is thin. The couple who used to live in your apartment is really loud, I have to listen to them every night fighting or having sex, it’s annoying. I’m so glad that they are out.”

"Well, now it’s weird knowing that people used to have sex in this room." The guy says and Myungsoo suddenly feels embarrassed and guilty telling him that. The guy then assures him, "Don’t worry, I am single."

Myungsoo feels obliged to say, “I am single too.”, too, even though he already said that he wasn’t in a relationship currently.

“Have you ever felt lonely?”

Myungsoo thinks about it and yeah, he feels lonely sometimes because he lives by himself and mostly spends his time in the apartment. There are moments when the loneliness has gathered up, and he feels frustratingly lonely. But when he feels that, he just goes home even for just a day so he will feel better. If not going home, then he will hang out with his friends.

"I feel a little lonely right now because I live by myself." Myungsoo admits, and he can’t help but wonder why they end up talking about this, “I am even considering adopting a cat. Do you feel lonely?”

"I feel lonely." The guy admits, "Sometimes I feel so alone it’s so suffocating."

Myungsoo can relate to that.

“I’m sorry for that. Maybe if you feel lonely talk to me?” Myungsoo offers, “Since we’re neighbors and all.”

And the wall between them is thin. It’s better if they get used to each other habits in case they hear anything weird. Not that Myungsoo is going to do anything weird.

“We don’t even know each other’s name.” The guy says, chuckling. Myungsoo is glad he doesn’t sound so sad anymore, though it’s obvious that he has been crying. Myungsoo is not the most sympathetic person in this world, but he doesn’t like seeing (or in this case, hearing) other people cries.

“I’m Myungsoo.” Myungsoo introduces himself, “Kim Myungsoo.”

"I’m Woohyun." Finally, a name, Myungsoo wants to ask, but he is glad he doesn’t have to, "Thank you, Myungsoo."

Myungsoo feels confused, what has he done?

“What for?”

“For distracting me.” The guy—Woohyun—says, “I don’t feel like pitying myself anymore.”

Myungsoo can’t help but smile. It’s a nice feeling, even though he is not entirely sure that he is helping Woohyun.

“Uhm, you’re welcome, I guess?” Myungsoo says. He is never being thanked for being distracting, before.

"I guess both of us should go to sleep, it’s already late." The guy says. Myungsoo can hear the bed creaks when Woohyun lies down, "Good night."

Myungsoo lies down, too, and says, “‘night.”

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

The bus Myungsoo usually hops on to go home is often crowded, but it has never been so crowded that he barely has space to move. Today is different, though. Usually, he still can get a seat and enjoy the way home, but now it seems that he is too late, and the bus is already crowded, and he doesn’t even get a seat. He has to crawl inside and stands for the whole ride, with the bus driver going a little too crazy driving the bus and people keeps pushing him. It’s annoying, and his arms hurt every time he has to hold himself from falling every time the bus honks and other people push him.

He is jealous of the guy in front of him who sits so comfortable, in contrast to Myungsoo’s situation. Myungsoo hopes that this guy will get off the bus soon so he can take his seat and rest.

Myungsoo feels too annoyed, so he tries to distract himself by thinking about what to buy for dinner. He is thinking of buying dinner for Woohyun, the new neighbor. He was going to visit Woohyun before he went to class this morning, but Woohyun was already gone.

Myungsoo is too busy imagining _jokbal_ when the bus suddenly sharply turns left, making Myungsoo unprepared when his body gets pushed and he loses his grip and balance. He closes his eyes and tries to turn his body in an attempt not to make himself fall to the passenger.

But he ends up falling, anyway. To the passenger’s lap. On his butt. And he can feel an arm catching him.

Myungsoo holds his breath and opens his eyes slowly when it’s over. He turns his head to see the passenger’s face, and he catches the stranger staring at him. Myungsoo can’t help but cringes, feeling sorry for falling on the stranger’s lap.

“I’m sorry,” Myungsoo says quickly, getting up as fast as he can despite struggling. The stranger smiles at him.

“It’s alright.” The stranger says, “Not every day a cute guy fell into my lap.”

If Myungsoo’s eating, he is going to choke because of what the stranger said. Myungsoo cringes, not used to hear something like that. The guy is probably just trying to make him less embarrassed, but he ends up feeling more embarrassed. He notices that the bus stop and gives a little bow to the stranger.

“I’m sorry.” He repeats before he turns his back and struggles to move to the front, determined to stop at the next bus stop. He can feel that the stranger’s staring at him and he try hard not to look back. When the bus finally stops, he gets off as fast as a lightning and looks around, relieved that he is finally out of the bus.

But then he almost curses when he realizes that he gets off one bus stop too early.

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

The first thing Myungsoo does when he arrives in his room is throwing himself on the bed and then screams, “Ah, I’m so embarrassing.”

He has to walk to his apartment because getting on a bus again will be a waste of money and he doesn’t even feel hungry anymore. He is still embarrassed because of the earlier accident. He falls a lot, yeah, because he is too easily distracted by something, but he has never fallen into someone’s lap before.

“Why are you embarrassing?” Woohyun shouts from the other side of the wall, apparently hearing Myungsoo. Myungsoo groans and buries his face on the pillow. Now he’s even more embarrassed because Woohyun heard his outburst. He flips his body and stares at the ceiling.

“I fell onto someone’s lap on the bus.” Myungsoo tells Woohyun, even though he has no idea why he ends up telling him, “And then I ran away.”

Woohyun laughs from the other side, sounding entertained by Myungsoo’s misery.

“Ha, that sounds like it could be a start of an epic love story.”

“It doesn’t.” Myungsoo denies, cringing again at the memory, cringing even more when Woohyun said that it could be a start of a love story. Woohyun seems to read too many romance novels.

“It does.”

“It doesn’t.”

“It does.”

Okay, Myungsoo gives up. He is lying anyway. It does sound like it can be a start of _shoujo_ manga, it’s just embarrassing imagining that the heroine of the story is him. He decides to change the conversation because he doesn’t want to keep remembering it. Woohyun is probably feeling glee when Myungsoo doesn’t deny it anymore.

"Anyway, I knocked on your door this morning, but you were already gone," Myungsoo tells him, only now remembering it again.

“Yeah, I went out early this morning.” Woohyun says, “Why, you want to meet me?”

“Yeah.”

"Want to meet now?" Woohyun offers. Myungsoo thinks about it for a while, but he feels tired suddenly, and he just wants to rest. Even more so when he remembers that he has an early class tomorrow and a tutoring job next day.

“Can’t we just talk today?” Myungsoo says, “I am tired.”

“I’m fine with that. I’ll treat you to dinner someday.” Woohyun says. Myungsoo wonders what he is doing currently, “If you’re tired, you should rest instead of talking.”

“Yeah, I should go take a bath,” Myungsoo says, sniffing himself. He can’t smell anything, but it’s better to assume that he stinks, especially after walking for a while.

“Good night.”

“‘night.”

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

Myungsoo wonders if he should buy a motorcycle, so he doesn’t have to use the bus and train every time he has to commute. That way he doesn’t have to keep getting squashed in a sea of people and avoid the jammed traffic. But then again he remembers that he can’t drive a motorcycle—he could, a long time ago, but he got into an accident when he was learning and got traumatized. Now, he can only sighs when he sees that the bus is crowded again. He walks inside the bus and scans the bus to see where he would be able to stand comfortably.

He almost gasps when he sees the guy he fell on sitting on one of the seats. Of course, he will see the man he embarrassed himself in front of, he doesn’t have the best luck in this world. He shifts his eyes when he sees the guy catching him staring, but still can’t help but to look at the guy. Now that guy is smiling at him and waving at him as if they know each other. It makes Myungsoo wants to hit himself.

He turns his body, so he doesn’t have to see the guy, deciding to stand where he already is, in front of the bus. It has more space than the other areas, anyway, and he can get off easily. He doesn’t know why but as the bus goes, he still can feel someone staring at him. It makes him feel uncomfortable.

After a while suddenly he hears a voice behind him, greeting him, “Hey.”

Myungsoo turns his head and almost jumps seeing the guy suddenly standing behind him. He checks out the seat the guy was sitting in and sees that it was being occupied by an elderly, now. He realizes that the guy must have given his place up.

Myungsoo turns his head again to the road, seeing the bus stop before he looks at the guy again and says, “Sorry, I have to get off here.”

The man’s presence makes him feel uncomfortable, for some reasons, so he decides to avoid the guy but getting off the bus.

He curses when he sees that he got off one bus stop early again.

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

Myungsoo manages to forget about the meeting when he arrives at his apartment, drenched in sweat, and having to study for the upcoming exams. Studying always manages to take his mind off things. Other than food and some other things.

He has been studying for two hours when he hears sounds from the other side of the wall, which is how he knows Woohyun’s finally home. It has been a few days since Woohyun moves to the apartment and they haven’t even met each other yet. Woohyun seems like a busy man, he goes out early in the morning but goes home in irregular time. They have talked a few times, and he finds out that Woohyun’s a singer who has been auditioning at some companies and that he cried because he failed an audition. Myungsoo doesn’t even remember why Woohyun ended up telling him that. They were talking when Myungsoo was half-asleep.

Myungsoo hears a knock on the wall before he hears, "Are you doing something?"

Myungsoo answers, “I’m studying.”

“Studying?” Woohyun repeats in disbelief, “You’re still at school?”

Myungsoo realizes that they never talk about what Myungsoo did even though he already knows what Woohyun does.

“No, I’m taking my master degree,” Myungsoo says. Yeah, that means that he is still in school, but he just feels like correcting Woohyun, in case he thinks that Myungsoo is still in high school or something.

“Master degree? What are you majoring at?” Woohyun asks, curious.

“Math.”

“Math??” Woohyun repeats dramatically in disbelief, making Myungsoo feels confused.

“Why are you shocked?”

“I have never known someone who takes math as a major.” Woohyun muses, “I guess you’re smart.”

"Not really," Myungsoo says. He is not intelligent, but he studies hard, so all is well. Sometimes working hard is better than just being smart, though he does feel jealous of people who are naturally intelligent.

“Sorry for disturbing you.” Woohyun apologizes and Myungsoo nods. It almost feels like Woohyun is in the same room with him, so he can’t help but reacting as if Woohyun can see him.

“It’s okay.” Myungsoo says, relaxing his neck and resting his eyes after looking at the breakdown of some formulas for two hours, “I am going to take a break anyway.”

“I have an idea.” Woohyun says, “Let’s not meet each other and just talk like this.”

Myungsoo sits upright again and says, “Why??”

"I don’t know." Woohyun says, and Myungsoo imagines a faceless man shrugging his shoulders, "This seems more fun."

“I’m pretty sure that my voice is going to get damaged from this.”

Yes, the wall between them is thin. But Myungsoo still needs to raise his voice to get properly heard. Living like this every night is going to make him lose his voice someday. Maybe.

“No, it won’t.” Woohyun says, entirely positive so Myungsoo can’t help but believe him, "Let’s get to know each other like this before meeting each other."

Myungsoo doesn’t know why but he agrees.

“Okay.”

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

Myungsoo is not really sure what kind of luck he has, but several days after meeting the guy on the bus, he finally gets a bus that is not crowded. He would think that he is lucky, but only if he doesn’t end up seeing the guy again on the bus, who smiles at him and waves his hand when he sees Myungsoo and then points to an empty seat beside of him. Myungsoo silently curses again—he does that a lot lately—before bracing himself.

It’s not like he can run away again. He is not even sure why he keeps running away. It’s mostly because he is embarrassed because of the little incident, but it’s in the past anyway. He walks towards the only empty seat, feeling tired and just wants to sit.

“You should sit here before someone takes it.” The guy says, looking weirdly happy when he sees Myungsoo. Myungsoo hopes that he is just a naturally happy person.

“I guess I should,” Myungsoo says, more to himself than to the guy. He sits down on the seat and avoids looking at the guy even though he is tempted to.

“You’re still embarrassed about that incident?” The guy asks, “Don’t be.  Like I said, it’s not every day I got a cute guy fell on my lap.”

“Do you say that to everyone who fall on your lap?” Myungsoo says, turning his head to finally look at the guy. He doesn’t feel annoyed, but he feels weird being called cute by a stranger.

The guy shrugs.

“You’re the only one who ever fall on my lap, so no.”

Now that’s even more embarrassing. Myungsoo falls silent again, doesn’t know what to say to that. He wonders if he should have a conversation with this guy, but he is not exactly good at making conversations. And it’s not like they’re going to meet often, so it’s not necessary to converse and get to know each other.

“Where are you going?” The guy asks first, after a frustratingly silent moment.

Myungsoo simply answers, “Home.”

“Where is it?”

“Just around here.”

Giving your address to a stranger is not a smart thing to do. Well, talking to a stranger is not a smart thing to do, too. But Myungsoo thinks this is pretty harmless.

“I see. My apartment is around here, too.”

“I see.”

Myungsoo waits but the guy don’t seem to say anything more Myungsoo feels relieved, actually, because he just doesn’t like talking to strangers too much.

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

The first thing Myungsoo does when he arrives in his room is to yell loudly and then throws himself on the bed.

He has to get off from the bus again because the stranger asked if he wouldn’t get off the bus in that stop since she got off there the other day and Myungsoo can’t say that he got off because he wants to run away. Now come to think again, he could have just stated that he get off there because he had business around that area and that he doesn’t usually stop there. But the idea only occurs to him when he arrived.

He groans again and rolls his body, but he didn’t realize that he lies down close to the edge, so he drops to the floor.

He yelps in pain when his body hit the ground. That is followed by some knocks on the wall from the other apartment and Woohyun’s voice asking him, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Myungsoo yells, still laying down on the floor. It’s not that painful, he is just surprised. And there is nothing significant. But then he gets reminded again about that time he fell on some stranger’s lap and how he kept meeting that stranger and how he kept feeling embarrassed, so he ends up saying, "I’m not…? I think I’m all right, but I also think I’m not fine. So am I fine or not?"

He doesn’t even know what he is talking about.

“That’s confusing, but you sound cute when you said that,” Woohyun says, sounding amused. Myungsoo pouts. He hears the word ‘cute’ too much, he starts to hate it.

“Don’t call me cute.” Myungsoo says as he finally gets up from the floor and sits down on the bed, “I have been called cute earlier.”

“By who?”

“A guy on the bus.” Myungsoo answers, “Whose lap I fell on.”

Woohyun laughs, definitely amused now, Myungsoo thinks.

“You met him again?” Woohyun says in disbelief, “How many times have that been? Three times?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe you’re fated to him.”

Of course, Woohyun will say that. Myungsoo doesn’t know Woohyun that well, yet, but it feels like Woohyun will be the kind of person who says cheesy stuff like this.

“Please no,” Myungsoo says. He doesn’t want to be fated to someone who has seen him being embarrassing.

“How if you’re?”

“That guy seems like a creep,” Myungsoo says, remembering how the guy seems a little too interested in him. He should be wary of those kind people, right? Who knows if the guy is checking if he is healthy and planning to murder him so he can take his organs and sells them to the black market.

“Why?” Woohyun asks, interrupting Myungsoo’s wild train of thoughts.

“He called me ‘cute’ twice.”

That’s enough reason to think of someone as a creep, right?

“Maybe you’re really cute.” Woohyun teases. If there is no wall between them, Myungsoo would have thrown something at him or kicks him.

“Stoooop.” Myungsoo whines, not wanting to hear the word ‘cute’ anymore.

Woohyun laughs at his misery, and the stops laughing but doesn’t talk. Myungsoo waits and wonders if Woohyun is doing something, but there is no sound of anything. He almost calls him out when Woohyun finally starts talking again.

“I went to another audition today,” Woohyun tells Myungsoo, making Myungsoo surprised by the change of topic. Myungsoo is happy to change the conversation, though. He is curious about what Woohyun does in auditions.

“How was it?”

“The judges said that they liked my performance,” Woohyun says, sounding happy even if just a little. He must have gotten past the period where he can be happy with simple praises.

“Then did you get accepted?” Myungsoo says. Based on their conversations, Woohyun seems determined to become an idol. Apparently, he almost became an idol, but his group got disbanded before debut because the CEO of the company ran away with the company’s money and Woohyun was left with some debt. It sounded horrible, Myungsoo can’t help but root for Woohyun.

“I will only know the result in a few days.”

“I hope you will get accepted.” Myungsoo says, “You should let me hear you sing someday.”

He wonders if that’s too much to ask for.

“I will. When I managed to compose a song, I will let you be the first person to listen to it.”

Okay, now Woohyun is giving him too much, making Myungsoo almost feels special.

"Now that’s too sweet of you."

“Well, I need someone to judge the song for me,” Woohyun says. Myungsoo imagines him shrugging.

“I’m not good at music.”

Myungsoo has never learned about music. Not even once, so he is not sure if he is qualified to judge a song. He doesn’t even listen to music often.

“That’s better, I need someone who can judge only as a listener, not an expert.”

So, does that mean he should just say how he feel about the song when he gets to hear it?

“I see,” Myungsoo says even though he doesn’t totally understand it. He randomly thinks about something and changes the conversation right away, “Hyung, do you think it would be a good idea for me to adopt a cat?”

“Do you feel really lonely?” Woohyun asks, making Myungsoo goes _huh_? But then he remembers that in their first conversation Myungsoo said that sometimes he feels so lonely he wants to adopt a cat. Now Woohyun’s question makes sense.

“It’s not that, I just like cats.” Myungsoo explains, he has been visiting cat shelters and now he has more than five cats he wants to adopt, “Ever since you’re here, I have someone to talk to anyway, so I am not lonely.”

It feels like he has a new close friend, even when they haven’t seen each other face, yet. It’s kind of fascinating.

“Really?” Woohyun says, “I am not lonely, too. It’s almost as if we live together.”

Myungsoo can’t help but smile. He is glad that Woohyun feels the same.

“Yeah, and we don’t even need to see each other’s face.”

“This is comfortable.”

“Uhm Uhm.” Myungsoo hums, agreeing, “So, what do you think about a cat?”

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

Of course, he meets the stranger again, just two days after their last encounter. He almost groans when he sees him, wondering how come they meet each other so often accidentally when there are so many other buses available. Even though there is an empty seat beside of the guy, he chooses to sit in another seat, next to an elderly.

He tries to hypnotize himself into thinking that the guy is not here, but he is not even close to success when the guy suddenly shows up beside of him, choosing to give up his seat to stand next to Myungsoo. That’s dedication.

“You’re avoiding me.” The guy says, pointing out the obvious.

Myungsoo is avoiding him, but he denies, “I’m not.”

“You are.”

“I said I am not.” Myungsoo insists, acutely aware that he sounds childish. Whenever he meets this guy, he feels like a child again.

“Then if you don’t then you won’t have any problem with having a dinner with me, right?” The guy says, smiling like a fool.

“You realize that I am a stranger, right?” Myungsoo says. He thinks someone should teach this guy not to be like this to strangers, how if he gets kidnapped? How if this guy gets his organs stolen?

“Yeah, but I want to get to know you more.” The guy says, “So, dinner? I will treat you.”

“I can’t have dinner today.” That’s a lie. Myungsoo will have to have dinner even if it’s the apocalypse, “If you want to get to know me just do it here.”

“Alright.” The guy says, still standing, “So, what’s your name?”

Myungsoo considers giving him a fake name, but he decides that he shouldn’t be this paranoid, so he answers, “Myungsoo.”

“Ah, I see. I am Hyunwoo. Jang Hyunwoo.”

Myungsoo doesn’t know what to say, should he say Nice to meet you?

“What do you do, Myungsoo?” The guy—Hyunwoo—asks, keeping the conversation going.

“Me? I’m just tutoring some kids right now, I’m more focused on studying.”

“Studying? How old are you?” Hyunwoo asks again, curious. Myungsoo hopes that Hyunwoo doesn’t think he is a minor or something.

“I am 23.”

“I see. What are you studying?”

Myungsoo feels like he is being interviewed.

“Math.”

“You don’t look like a math student.” Hyunwoo notes.

Some people always says that to him and Myungsoo never understands why, “How does a math student suppose to look like?”

“I don’t know. A nerd, maybe?”

Myungsoo imagines his classmates having similarly offended faces at that answer. It will look funny.

“Huh, we look normal, actually,” Myungsoo says. It’s such a cliché, most of the science students actually look normal. Yeah, maybe there are some that are just too smart they’re not on the same wavelength with the others, but still…Myungsoo thinks he looks normal.

“If all math students are as gorgeous as you, I will only date math students,” Hyunwoo says, looking very satisfied with his own words. Myungsoo tries hard not to scoff or laugh at that. “Don’t you have any questions about me?”

Myungsoo coldly says, “No.”.

“Ah, I’m hurt,” Hyunwoo says with a fake-hurt tone.

“Sorry.” Myungsoo apologizes insincerely.

“It’s okay. You will get to know me as we continue to meet.”

Myungsoo never plans for them to meet again.

“Huh?”

“I think we will see each other often, seeing how we a most end up always being on the same bus.”

“Most of these are coincidences.” Myungsoo points out, “Who knows if we will even meet again after this?”

“Then let’s just meet each other often on purpose.” Hyunwoo says, absolutely confident, “How about you give me your number?”

“Why do you seem to want to meet me often?” Myungsoo says. There is nothing interesting about Myungsoo and Myungsoo is pretty amazed that no matter how many times Myungsoo brushes him off or answers coldly, Hyunwoo seems relentless.

“I just think that you’re interesting.” Hyunwoo says, Myungsoo almost feels flattered, “And it doesn’t hurt to have a new friend, right?”

“Then give me your number first, I will call you later.”

Just in case Hyunwoo is a scammer who will use his number to scam. How big is the possibility that Hyunwoo is a scammer? How big is the possibility that he is an organ dealer?

“No problem. Do you have a paper and a pen?”

Myungsoo opens his bag and takes out his post it packs along with a pen, giving him to Hyunwoo. Hyunwoo has to struggle writing while standing on a moving bus so it takes a while before Hyunwoo finally finishes writing.

“There you go.” Hyunwoo says when he is finished, his writing is hard to read, “Don’t forget to call me.”

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

That night, it’s not Woohyun who knocks on the wall first but Myungsoo. He just feels like he needs to tell he feels obliged, but after telling Woohyun everything Woohyun what has happened on the bus, not because that has happened he just needs to continue the tale about him and the guy on the bus. It’s for the sake of continuity.

“Woohyun.” He calls, “Are you there?”

Myungsoo has to wait for a while before Woohyun finally speaks up, “Yeah. Is there anything wrong?”

“I met the guy on the bus again,” Myungsoo tells him.

“Wow. It keeps progressing.”

Myungsoo nods, which he needs to stop doing because Woohyun can’t see him and it’s useless.

“He is kind of weird.” Myungsoo says, thinking about all the things Hyunwoo said and did, “He gave me his number. I know his name now.”

“So, now you’re not just some strangers anymore,” Woohyun says, he sounds like he is thinking of something, but Myungsoo won’t be able to guess what it is.

“Yeah. But I don’t know if I should call him or not, I haven’t given him my number.”

Myungsoo feels like he is currently having a consultation on something. Consultation on his life.

“Call him, this can be an opportunity for you to get a new boyfriend. Is he hot?”

Myungsoo wonders why that matter, but he thinks of Hyunwoo again, remembering his distinct features, and says, “Yeah, he is kind of hot. But he is also pretty short.”

The short height doesn’t cancel out the hotness, but he still mentions it anyway.

“Maybe it’s you who is too tall,” Woohyun says as if he is offended by that remark. Myungsoo wonders if he’s short. There is no reason to feel offended at that.

"There are other people who are taller than me." Myungsoo mulls. His height is pretty average, there are really a lot of other people who are taller than him. If he is too tall the Hyunwoo is too short, "Should I call him?"

“You should,” Woohyun says, convincing him.

“How if he is a scammer?”

He doesn’t know what he keeps thinking of Hyunwoo as a scammer. He feels bad if Hyunwoo is actually just a nice guy who wants to be friends with him. He blames Sunggyu—his senior from high school—who keeps telling him to be wary of people and that the scariest thing in the world is human nature. Sunggyu even warns him to be wary of people who seems too nice.

“Just tell me everything about him, if he is too suspicious, I will warn you.”

“Are you a good judge for something like this?”

"I have been scammed before, I know the signs."

Oh. Myungsoo feels sad hearing that. He wonders if Woohyun is referring to his old company or if there are other times when Woohyun gets scammed. He wants to know the detail, but it feels rude to ask. Maybe when they know each other better, Myungsoo will ask.

“Oh.” Myungsoo says, “Then, I will call him now.”

“Not now!” Woohyun yells in a hurry.

“Why?”

“It’s late.”

Myungsoo looks at the clock and has only then realized that it’s 11 PM. It’s not that late, but he guesses a pretty inappropriate time to call a stranger. He nods, again, can’t stop the habit.

“Oh,” Myungsoo says again. He doesn’t know what about Hyunwoo to talk about again, so he changes the topic, now concerning Woohyun, “Is there any news about the result?”

“No, not yet,” Woohyun says. Myungsoo thinks that he almost sounds frustrated, which Myungsoo can understand because it has been a few days, “But I’m planning to go to some other auditions.”

“I see.” Myungsoo says, “I’m curious, too, about the result.”

“You will be the first person I tell about the result.” Woohyun assures him. Myungsoo laughs.

“Thank you. I feel special.”

Woohyun laughs a little and Myungsoo imagines a face with only a scrunched nose on it. It’s so hard when he doesn’t know Woohyun’s face.

“Go to sleep.” Woohyun says, “I am already sleepy.”

“Okay.”

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

Myungsoo doesn’t meet Hyunwoo after that, and Myungsoo is not sure if he is happy or disappointed. He finds himself looking for Hyunwoo when he gets on a bus, despite not wanting to. He guesses it has become a habit for him since he meets Hyunwoo on a bus so often. Maybe turns out, they are just not destined to meet that often. Which Myungsoo should feel glad for, but instead feel weird about.

He goes back to his apartment wondering if something happens to Hyunwoo, despite not wanting to think about it. But he thinks he worries uselessly, Myungsoo called Hyunwoo yesterday, and he sounded fine.

Woohyun must have heard it when Myungsoo arrived in his room because he calls his name, “Myungsoo.”

The way Woohyun calls his name makes him sounds dejected, it makes Myungsoo wonder if something bad happens. Now he switches from worrying about Hyunwoo to worrying about Woohyun.

“Yes?”

“I got rejected,” Woohyun says, his voice’s volume is so low Myungsoo almost doesn’t hear him.

Myungsoo instantly feels sad. They have only known each other for a while, but Myungsoo knows that this whole thing means a lot for Woohyun from how he talks about it. Myungsoo can recognize it quickly when someone is passionate about something, sometimes it makes him feel jealous because he doesn’t have anything in particular that he is passionate about.

“…I’m sorry.” Myungsoo says, unable to offer any comfort, “Why, though? I thought they liked your performance?”

“They said that I’m too old,” Woohyun says with a deep sigh. Myungsoo can tell that Woohyun is trying hard not to cry.

“That’s not fair.” Myungsoo says, can’t help but feeling angry on Woohyun’s behalf, “You’re only 24! You’re not old yet.”

“It’s already old in the idol industry.” Woohyun says, totally dejected, “I wonder if I should just give up and find something else I want to do.”

“Don’t give up, you don’t have to be an idol. You can still be a great musician.” Myungsoo says. He is feeling on fire because he feels it’s so unfair that Woohyun keeps getting rejected. He hasn’t even heard Woohyun sings, yet. He doesn’t know why Woohyun wants to be an idol so much, but he knows that there are a lot of singers who debuted late, so age shouldn’t be a problem.

“It’s hard.”

“You can go to competitions like KPop Stars or something.” Myungsoo says, “There are a lot of ways. Have you tried those?”

Silence.

“I haven’t.”

“See? There are a lot of ways.” Myungsoo says. This is his way of trying to get Woohyun spirits up again.

“I’m not sure if I will be good enough to get noticed, though,” Woohyun says. Myungsoo doesn’t need to see the guy to know that his confidence is gone. Myungsoo really wants to lift his spirits up because he doesn’t like hearing Woohyun this sad.

“Let me hear you sing,” Myungsoo says. He hasn’t heard Woohyun sing, not even once. But he wants to praise Woohyun, if he hasn’t even heard him sing he won’t be able to praise him.

“Now?”

“Yes.”

Myungsoo is curious how Woohyun sounds like when he sings. From the way he speaks, Myungsoo thinks Woohyun is excellent at singing. His speaking voice is already pleasant to hear. Now come to think about it again, Hyunwoo and Woohyun’s voices are pretty similar.

There is silence again before Myungsoo finally hears Woohyun sings.

_When I first met you, it was truly eye-blinding_

_When I first saw your smile, I felt like I had the whole world_

_Little star tonight_

_All night, I will watch over you_

 

 

 

_When I see you fast asleep in my arms_

_I can’t take my eyes off you for a second_

_You’re so pretty – I feel like my breath will stop_

_How can I fall asleep?_

 

 

 

Woohyun stops singing back then, doesn’t sing again and makes Myungsoo feels disappointed. It’s only a little bit, but Myungsoo can already feel the song. Woohyun’s voice is emotional and even though the song doesn’t show Woohyun’s full capability, Myungsoo could know that Woohyun is a good singer. He would have to force Woohyun to sing more in the future. Maybe they can go to a _noraebang_ together.

“Myungsoo?” Woohyun calls because Myungsoo hasn’t said anything, “You didn’t fall asleep, right?”

“That’s beautiful.” Myungsoo finally manages to find his voice, “You definitely can sing.”

"Of course, I can," Woohyun says with a laugh. Myungsoo thinks that Woohyun is not taking him seriously.

“Your voice is one of the best voices I have ever heard.” Myungsoo elaborates, wants to give Woohyun a compliment. It’s a sincere one.

"You’re just flattering me," Woohyun says, still not taking Myungsoo seriously. Myungsoo wants to pout because it feels like Woohyun think doesn’t think Myungsoo is sincere when he is being totally genuine with what he is saying.

“No, seriously. I don’t give compliments often, you know.” Myungsoo says. Well, he actually gives compliments pretty often to other people, but he gives those when those people deserves it. But then again, Myungsoo’s standard isn’t high.

"Thank you then," Woohyun says. Myungsoo hopes he is smiling.

“You can slay those shows.” Myungsoo assures him, “I will be your biggest supporter.”

“Thank you.”

Myungsoo wishes he can see Woohyun right now, so he will be able to see whether Woohyun is still sad or not. He is probably still sad. Myungsoo wishes he is better at trying to cheer up other people. But he is not a good speaker, he never is, and sadly that’s one of the skills someone should have when they try to cheer other people up.

“You know, I was going to be a photographer.” Myungsoo randomly brings his old dream up, his mouth is already saying that without his brain really processing what he is saying.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I really like taking photos.” Myungsoo says, glancing at the camera that is sitting on his desk right now, “But my parents didn’t give me permission to be a photographer, so I end up choosing math instead. And it turns out I am happy too with math.”

Woohyun doesn’t say anything, Myungsoo wonders if he says something wrong.

“So…what’s the point?” Woohyun finally asks.

Myungsoo thinks about what’s the point of his speech, but he doesn’t have any intention when he talked about it. He doesn’t even know why he told Woohyun all that.

“Nothing.” Myungsoo finally answer honestly, “Just wants to tell you that.”

“You’re funny, Myungsoo.”

"You’re the first person in my life who call me funny," Myungsoo says, lamenting that fact. Myungsoo is a boring person, and he is more of a listener than someone who talks often, and he is a pretty serious person who can not crack a joke by himself, so it’s weird being called funny.

“I glad to be the first something in your life.” Woohyun says, and Myungsoo can feel his cheeks becoming warm, “I was going to call you cute. But funny works, too.”

Myungsoo pouts.

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

It has been several days since the last time Myungsoo sees Hyunwoo, and he gets used again to not meeting Hyunwoo anymore. But of course, when Myungsoo finally gets used to it, Hyunwoo suddenly shows up again. This time, it’s Myungsoo who is inside of the bus first instead of like before, where Hyunwoo is usually already on the bus before him. Myungsoo smiles sincerely at Hyunwoo who of course, spots him right away and takes a seat beside of Myungsoo.

“Hey, Myungsoo.” Hyunwoo greets him, smiling brightly as usual. He seems okay, so Myungsoo thinks they are just destined to not meet for a few days, before meeting each other again.

“I haven’t seen you for a few days,” Myungsoo says, just because. It’s not like he is admitting that he is looking forward to meeting Hyunwoo again. He just points out a fact.

“Me, too.” Hyunwoo says even though Myungsoo thinks, of course, Hyunwoo hasn’t seen him too, “We’re not lucky enough to be on the same bus every day, I guess.”

Myungsoo nods. It will be such a great coincidence, though, if they accidentally meet every day. But that’s impossible, that’s only possible if one of them runs to the other on purpose. Myungsoo wants to ask how Hyunwoo’s doing, but Hyunwoo beats him by asking, “Wants to have dinner together?”

Myungsoo smiles apologetically at Hyunwoo, not feeling comfortable to have dinner with the other yet.

“Ah, I have eaten.” Myungsoo lies through his teeth, “And I’m busy tonight, sorry.”

The busy part is correct, though. He has to finish a paper because the deadline is near. He hasn’t finish it because his bullshitting ability is currently not that good.

“It’s okay.” Hyunwoo says, still smiling despite being rejected and Myungsoo wonders how the hell his spirit hasn’t gotten brought down by Myungsoo since Myungsoo is acting pretty cold towards him since the beginning of their meetings, “Anyway, I’m happy that you called me. Will it be okay for me to call you?”

Oh. Yeah, Myungsoo forgot that he had called Hyunwoo, but he remembers that he only said hi before hanging up. It’s nice for Hyunwoo to ask first, though.

“Yeah, sure,” Myungsoo says. They’re more familiar with each other, now, so Myungsoo doesn’t have a problem with that.

“I miss you,” Hyunwoo says, taking Myungsoo by surprise.

He wonders if Hyunwoo is serious because why would he miss Myungsoo? There is nothing about Myungsoo to miss, and they don’t know each other to guarantee feeling longing for each other. Myungsoo points out, “We have only met each other several times.”

“Still, I miss you.” Hyunwoo says, “When you’re around me it feels like my day is brighter.”

Myungsoo gawks at that. Now he remembers why he is uncomfortable around Hyunwoo.

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

Myungsoo meets Hyunwoo again two days after their last meeting, Hyunwoo is already on the bus and before Myungsoo realizes it, he sits beside of Hyunwoo automatically. Hyunwoo seems pleased by that that Myungsoo voluntarily sits beside of him. Myungsoo realizes it late, and it’s too late to change his seat. He sighs and just tries to relax. It’s a tiring day with high school exams coming up, and he has to give an extra lesson to the kids he is mentoring. He gets more money, but it is still tiring teaching several kids in different places in one day. And he has his own exams coming up, too.

“Long day?” Hyunwoo asks, noticing his condition. Myungsoo just nods. His tongue feels dry.

“Should I give you a massage?” Hyunwoo offers. Myungsoo raises his eyebrow. You can’t give a massage to a stranger on a crowded bus.

“No, it’s okay, thank you.” Myungsoo quickly rejects. Hyungsoo is really weird.

“Too bad, I will give everything to have my hand on you,” Hyunwoo says, and Myungsoo almost rolls his eyes. Hyunwoo sounds like a pervert.

“That’s creepy, you know.” Myungsoo says, and then wonders, “Why are you always flirting with me?”

“I’m not flirting. I’m just extra nice to someone who is extra attractive.”

Myungsoo wants to throw himself out of the bus.

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

“He keeps flirting with me!” Myungsoo yells on his room, talking to Woohyun even though he is not sure Woohyun is in his room or not. Well, if Woohyun is not in his room let’s just say Myungsoo is talking to himself. It won’t be the first time he does that since he does talk to himself a lot, especially when he is alone.

Thankfully, Woohyun responds right away, sparing Myungsoo of being embarrassed of himself, “Did his flirts make you feel something, at least?”

“Yeah, his flirts made me embarrassed.” Myungsoo says, deadpanning.

“Your heart didn’t pound faster or something?” Woohyun asks again, pushing Myungsoo to think. Myungsoo doesn’t answer right away, remembering all the times Hyunwoo sprouts all those non-senses.

He does feel something. There aren’t many people who flirts with him. Myungsoo feels embarrassed and awkward hearing those, but at the same time it makes Myungsoo feels a little appreciated. He can’t help but letting those flirts sway him, which is why he wants to get out of the bus every time Hyunwoo does that.

“It did.” Myungsoo finally admits. It’s pretty hard to admit.

“Then it’s not a problem.” Woohyun says. Something bumps into the wall and that’s how Myungsoo knows that Woohyun is leaning against the wall now. Myungsoo leans against the wall, too.

“I have never met someone who flirts with me so blatantly,” Myungsoo says, not knowing what to do. With his ex-boyfriends, their progresses before dating is slow and doesn’t involve frank flirting like what Hyunwoo is doing. His ex-boyfriends took their time to flatter Myungsoo and made him fall for them.

“He is just straightforward,” Woohyun says.

“I know. But I don’t want to misunderstand anything.”

He doesn’t want to be misled and gets his heart broken later.

“Then just ask him not to make you misunderstand,” Woohyun says. That’s simple. Except that Myungsoo has told Hyunwoo to stop and Hyunwoo doesn’t hear him. Woohyun asks again, “Are you interested in him?”

“I don’t know.” Myungsoo says honestly, “I don’t fall for someone quickly.”

His friends say that he seems like the type to fall in love easily and swiftly, but that’s not true at all. Myungsoo adores a lot of people, but loving someone is not easy, especially after getting burned in his last relationship.

“Good to hear.”

“Why?”

“Nothing.” Woohyun says quickly, “If he asks you out, will you accept it?”

“I don’t know.” Myungsoo says again, “I feel like having a relationship again, but I’m not sure if it should be with him.”

A relationship is not his priority, but it’s nice having one. But he needs to find the right person for it. He is afraid that something like what happened in his relationship will happen again. Myungsoo is not even sure that he is ready for a relationship. He feels like he needs some things to fix about himself so he can handle a relationship.

Woohyun doesn’t say anything anymore, and Myungsoo waits. Myungsoo wonders if Woohyun’s not there anymore or if Woohyun is thinking of something, too.

“Woohyun?” Myungsoo calls, “Is there something wrong?”

"No, nothing," Woohyun says.

They fall silent again.

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

Myungsoo stands nervously, looking around his surroundings. It has been a long time since the last time he goes to the cinema, he doesn’t even know what movie he will watch because he lets Hyunwoo chooses the movie. Yeah, Hyunwoo called him a few days ago and asked him whether he wants to watch something together or not. He almost refuses it because weirdly it has become a habit to refuse everything Hyunwoo asks him ro, but then he remembers that he should try to loosen up.

“Myungsoo!” Hyunwoo’s voice echoes from several meters across him, “How are you?”

Myungsoo bows to him as a greeting and Hyunwoo smiles at him. Myungsoo feels even more nervous, and he doesn’t even know why he feels so nervous.

“I am fine.” Myungsoo says, “How about you?”

“I am fine, too, really fine.” Hyunwoo says, putting his hand on Myungsoo’s shoulder and squeezes it, “Especially because you accepted my invitation.”

Myungsoo scratches his head.

"Ah yeah, it doesn’t hurt to make a new friend," Myungsoo says. He feels awkward.

“How if I want to be more than friends?”

Now he feels even more awkward. He doesn’t know how to respond to that, so he just plays dumb, “Huh?”

"Just kidding," Hyunwoo says, seems amused by Myungsoo.

"Stop that," Myungsoo says, putting his head down. Seriously, Hyunwoo needs to stop that. He doesn’t want to misunderstand anything or get his hopes up despite not knowing for sure about his feelings. He doesn’t know why he suddenly remembers Woohyun in this moment.

“Stop what?” Hyunwoo says, acting innocent.

“Sprouting flirty lines.” Myungsoo says, “I can misunderstand it, you know.”

“How if you don’t misunderstand it?” Hyunwoo says, “How if you understand it correctly?”

Myungsoo hits Hyunwoo’s arm lightly.

"Seriously, stop it," Myungsoo says. If Hyunwoo keeps saying stuff like that, he thinks he will run away again because he can’t handle it.

“Alright, alright.” Hyunwoo takes his hand and leads him, “Let’s watch the movie.”

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

The movie was not…that good. It’s a romantic movie, but the plot was so predictable, and Myungsoo can already guess how the storyline will be. The ending is sad, but he doesn’t even get sad because he already sees the ending coming. Hyunwoo seems to like the movie, though. He thinks Hyunwoo almost cries watching the movie but he doesn’t because he tries to be manly.

And now they’re on the bus going back to their respective place, Myungsoo looking out of the window.

“Thank you for today.” Hyunwoo says to him, “Let’s do it more often.”

“Yeah, we should,” Myungsoo says. Even though the movie was boring, he still feels happy being able to watch something with someone. It has been a long time since he feels a simple joy like this.

Myungsoo sees his bus stop upcoming and puts his hand on Hyunwoo’s thigh to get his attention, just to tell him, “I am going get off here.”

"Me, too," Hyunwoo says, grinning at him. Myungsoo feels confused and starts to wonder if this is where Hyunwoo usually stops. After all, Myungsoo has never seen Hyunwoo gets off the bus.

“Huh? Why?”

“I know a good night market around here.” Hyunwoo says, “Want to take a walk around before going home?”

There is still time before Myungsoo has to sleep, so he mindlessly accepts, “Yeah, sure.”

They finally get off and goes to the market Hyunwoo says. Myungsoo knows this market as well, he lives around here for a few years, after all. They walk around the market, and he listens to Hyunwoo’s stories. As Hyunwoo keeps talking, the more familiar he seems.

“You never really talk much, don’t you?” Hyunwoo finally asks him, probably because Myungsoo doesn’t talk much and only listens to him wordlessly.

"Yeah, sorry, I’m not really a talker, I am better at listening to other people," Myungsoo explains. He only talks a lot when he is with people he is comfortable with. It’s a wonder that he manages to feel comfortable with Woohyun quickly enough that he can talk about a lot of things with him.

"It’s okay, sometimes people needs someone who will listen to them," Hyunwoo says and Myungsoo nods. He is proud of himself that he is a good listener, he likes it when people is comfortable enough with him to tell him their problems.

They stop at a fish cake stand and Hyunwoo orders to cups of fish cake for both of them, giving one to Myungsoo before paying for it. Myungsoo accepts it gleefully, “Oh, thank you.”

They continue to walk and see the market around, Hyunwoo tries to have a conversation with him, “So, what are you planning after you graduate?”

“I want to be a teacher,” Myungsoo says. He likes tutoring, so he decides that he want to continue doing it.

“A teacher?” Hyunwoo asks, finding it ridiculous, “No, no, you won’t be a good teacher.”

“Why?!” Myungsoo asks, feeling offended.

“Your students will be too busy staring at your face instead of focusing on what you’re teaching.”

Myungsoo doesn’t know if he should feel flattered or still offended.

“That’s not true,” Myungsoo says, cheeks warm because of the praise.

He doesn’t see some children run towards them, and when he finally realizes it, they’re already bulldozing him and makes him fall. He can feel the fish cake dropped from his hand and spilled onto his shirt.

“Ah!”

Myungsoo stares at the big stain of fish cake soup on his shirt, silently crying about his dropped fish cake and the fact that he has to wash the shirt quickly. The children are already running away, and Myungsoo feels annoyed.

Hyunwoo offers his hand and helps him gets up.

“Is your house around here?” Hyunwoo asks, seemingly worried about his shirt.

“Ye—” Myungsoo starts to answer, but Hyunwoo cuts him off quickly.

“Nevermind, we should go to my apartment. It’s near here.”

“What?”

"Your shirt is wet, I can lend you some shirts so we can continue our date," Hyunwoo explains. Myungsoo starts to say something, but Hyunwoo beats him again.

"Come on," Hyunwoo says as he takes Myungsoo’s hand and starts dragging him. Myungsoo wants to say that it’s not necessary since his apartment is near here, too.

“But—“

"Let’s go," Hyunwoo says, insisting. Myungsoo bites his lip and finally just follows Hyunwoo. He just hopes that Hyunwoo doesn’t have any bad intentions—gosh he needs to stop thinking so negatively. He doesn’t even know when he started being so wary of everything.

The more Myungsoo follows Hyunwoo, the more he realizes that the path they’re walking on is similar to the path he usually takes when he goes back to his apartment after playing outside. It makes him wonder where Hyunwoo’s apartment is.

“Is it really near here?” Myungsoo asks, curious. They’re really heading to his building apartment. How funny will it be if it turns out that Hyunwoo lives in the same apartment building as he is?

“Yes.” Hyunwoo says, “Don’t worry, I’m not kidnapping you or something.”

“It’s not that…” Myungsoo mutters. They’re finally arriving at his apartment building, and Myungsoo decides not to say anything for now. He just follows Hyunwoo quietly.

They use the stair to go up, and Myungsoo feels anxious. Hyunwoo finally stops going up the stairs on one floor, and Myungsoo thinks— _hold up._ This is his apartment floor. Myungsoo feels dumbfounded when they are walking towards his apartment, so dumbfounded he can’t say anything.

They finally stop walking in front of the apartment beside of Myungsoo’s apartment, and Myungsoo feels confused.

"Welcome to my apartment," Hyunwoo says, welcoming him with his two hands as they point to the door.

And then a realization hits Myungsoo.

“You are…Woohyun.”

“Yes.” Hyunwoo—no, Woohyun—confirms.

Myungsoo punches Woohyun in the face and then runs towards to his own apartment.

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

Myungsoo throws the shirt he is wearing to the washing machine, feeling angry and wants to kick something.

He can’t believe Woohyun was fooling him. And he can’t believe he gets fooled easily. Of course, Hyunwoo and Woohyun’s voices were similar for him, they’re the same person. So this is why Woohyun doesn’t want to meet face to face yet; because he was fooling Myungsoo.

He doesn’t understand why Woohyun did that, does he have fun playing Myungsoo around? He tells Woohyun everything that he thinks about ‘Hyunwoo’ and what they do. Did he have fun hearing all of that, knowing that Myungsoo feels flustered because of ‘Hyunwoo’?

Myungsoo yells because he feels so frustrated.

It doesn’t make sense that Woohyun and Hyunwoo are the same people. The impression they gave Myungsoo was different, and Myungsoo can’t really comprehend it. Hyunwoo always reeks of confidence while Woohyun always seems full of insecurity.

It’s really hard to comprehend. But then again humans have a lot of sides and Woohyun was just playing his two sides really well in front of Myungsoo.

He goes back to his room after washing his clotes, wanting to sleep and forget everything.

“Myungsoo, are you angry?” Woohyun yells from the other side and Myungsoo groans loudly on purpose.

“I’m sorry.” Woohyun says, “I am Woohyun.”

“So what?” Myungsoo snaps, coming out sounding childish instead of scary like he intends to.

“Just telling you.” Woohyun says, “Can’t we talk about this?”

“No.”

“But—“

Myungsoo goes outside of his room again and decides to sleep on the sofa.

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

Myungsoo is lucky that he has exams to distract him from everything. Woohyun keeps trying to talk to him and Myungsoo yells at him that he needs to study, and that’s enough to make Woohyun stops talking to him. He still feels angry, but exams manage to distract him from everything. He thinks being angry makes him study better because he uses that to distract him from what is bothering him.

He aces today’s test. He gets out of the classroom happily, walks for a while, and then gets on the bus to go back to his apartment.

He stops in his tracks though when he sees Woohyun inside. The guy looks at him, and Myungsoo avoids his gaze right away, choosing to sit on a seat far away from Woohyun.

It feels awkward knowing that Woohyun is there. Myungsoo tries not to think about Woohyun and tries not to think about whether he should talk to him or not and whether he should forgive him. It’s too fast to forgive Woohyun, yet.

Myungsoo finally gets off from the bus at the closest stop from his apartment, followed by Woohyun. Myungsoo tries to walk quickly, but he still can hear Woohyun following his steps, walking behind him. Myungsoo can’t shake off his presence, and Myungsoo feels disdain because he can’t help but feel like he needs to say something. Anything.

Myungsoo turns his body to face Woohyun and says, “Don’t follow me.”

Woohyun puts on an innocent expression and points out, “But my apartment is next to yours.”

_Oh right._

Myungsoo walks faster, feeling that he has humiliated himself.

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

The night after that day Woohyun knocks on the wall quietly while Myungsoo’s studying. Myungsoo doesn’t respond and keeps scribbling notes, not wanting to let Woohyun disturb him.

“I went to another audition today.” Woohyun tells him, his voice quiet but it manages to grab Myungsoo’s attention and makes him stop scribbling, “If I failed this one I think I am going to go on I Can See Your Voice. Maybe I can be like Hwang Chiyeul.”

Myungsoo listens to it attentively but decides not to say anything for now. Despite being angry he still wants to wish Woohyun a good luck, so he just does so quietly on his mind.

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

“Myungsoo.” Woohyun calls out again a few days later, “Are you still angry?”

“Yes,” Myungso says frankly. Well, as the time goes on his anger has slowly disappeared. Not completely, though.

“I’m sorry.” Woohyun says, he sounds sincere to Myungsoo, “But seriously, let’s talk outside, yeah? I will treat you something nice.”

Myungsoo thinks about it and yeah, he guesses it’s finally the right time to let Woohyun explains himself. And on top of that, if he gets treated to something nice, it will be nice.

"Something expensive?" Myungsoo asks.

“Yes, something really expensive.”

“Alright.”

Myungsoo finally walks outside of his apartment and knocks on Woohyun’s door.

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

Something really expensive is basically a food stand on the street that is selling soju, ramyeon, and street foods. Myungsoo doesn’t protest, though, because he knows Woohyun doesn’t have that much money and Myungsoo likes street foods. He is just going to order another bowl of ramyeon after he finishes his first one. That’s expensive enough.

Both he and Woohyun were silent on the way here, and they are still silent when they finally have a seat. Myungsoo is waiting for Woohyun to say something first and maybe Woohyun is waiting for Myungsoo to say something. But Myungsoo is not sure about what he should say, should he demands an explanation?

“That time…” Woohyun starts to say, gaining Myungsoo’s interest, “…you don’t have to punch me, you know.”

Myungsoo bows his head apologetically. He doesn’t even know that his impulse when he finds out something too surprising is to punch someone.

“I know.” Myungsoo says, “But I was so surprised.” Woohyun smiles at that, and Myungsoo then remembers that they have important things to talk about. He looks at Woohyun again, trying to look angry, and asks, “Did you have fun messing with me?”

“I am sorry.” Woohyun says, “I didn’t mean to do all of that, but it was fun. But I put a stop on it quickly, didn’t I?”

Yeah, Woohyun does put a stop on it. After a month. And Myungsoo still can’t believe that Woohyun managed to fool Myungsoo that long. Myungsoo feels so stupid, and he hates that.

"I can’t believe that you fool me," Myungsoo murmurs, still annoyed at that.

“I can’t believe you can’t recognize me from my voice alone.” Woohyun says, taking a sip of soju, “I did alter my voice but there isn’t much difference. I guess you aren’t that smart, after all.”

“Yah!” Myungsoo says, picking up his glass and pretends that he is going to throw it at Woohyun, “Do you already know who I am in our first encounter on the bus?”

“When I saw your face, I didn’t know who you are, but because I am smart unlike you, when I heard you speak I can recognize your voice right away.”

Myungsoo pouts at that. He wants to say that it was probably because his voice is pretty distinctive. Myungsoo hates it when people say that his voice sounds like a chipmunk, but he can admit that his voice can be pretty unique.

“Then you should have told me right away that it was you," Myungsoo says, still wondering why Woohyun didn’t do that.

“But that won’t be fun,” Woohyun says. That is the only reason?

“I got off the bus one stop early several times because of you,” Myungsoo says, remembering all the times he has to walk to his apartment. He felt really angry about that.

“I struggled too, you know, I had to get off the bus at another station so you won’t find out that we lived in the same building, and I had to change my voice when I talked to you.”

“That’s your own fault.” Myungsoo says, and then laments, “You’re so different when you’re talking to me face to face than when we’re in our rooms.”

“Different how?” Woohyun asks, naturally curious. Myungsoo stares at Woohyun’s head and also thinking about how this is the face of someone he has been talking to through the wall for weeks.

“You sound more serious when we’re in our rooms.” Myungsoo says, “When we talk like this…you’re too flirty.”

It’s much more than that, but that’s what he can explain the most. Because everything else is complicated.

“I’m not even that flirty.” Woohyun says, "I can’t help it, it’s fun to flirt with you and then to listen how you get embarrassed because of it. Also, you should have seen your own face when I told you my punch lines—those faces were hilarious."

Now Myungsoo really wants to hit Woohyun.

“Did you flirt with me just to hear me flailing and embarrassed about it?” Myungsoo asks, the question he has been wondering about the most. He feels embarrassed every time he remembers that he was flailing about it a lot.

“No, I was flirting with you for real.” Woohyun says, taking Myungsoo by surprise, "I really found you cute, and I am really interested in you."

“But we don’t even know each other for a long time.”

Well, it has been a month. But that month is filled with lies and deceits—okay, maybe he is being too dramatic about this, but it’s true anyway—so the only thing Myungsoo can be certain about Woohyun is their talks at nights. The things Woohyun told him at nights seemed sincere

“I fall for someone quickly, so I am already falling for you.” Woohyun confesses, and suddenly Myungsoo doesn’t know what to do again, how to react to that because he thought that Woohyun is just playing around with him, “Well, that’s why I get heartbroken often, but you won’t break my heart, right?”

“How if I will break your heart?” Myungsoo asks, suddenly feeling burdened by it, “You don’t know my feeling.”

“Well, then I will make you fall for me,” Woohyun says casually, as if it’s something easy to do for him.

“Huh?”

“I will make you fall in love with me and then we will date.” Woohyun declares, and Myungsoo feels dizzy from all the sudden progress, “Unless, you are already falling for me, then we can date right away.”

“It’s too soon,” Myungsoo says. They have only known each other for a month.

“So you’re already falling for me,” Woohyun says, happy at the revelation and Myungsoo feels his cheeks rose up. Must be the soju. Woohyun looks at him seriously and then says again, “Then, I will wait.”

“You will?” Myungsoo asks. Not everyone is willing to wait for someone they have barely known each other.

“I will. While I am waiting, we can fall for each other more and then I will stop waiting and then we will date.”

Woohyun seems determined, doesn’t he?

“Okay,” Myungsoo says, agreeing. He has never gone through something like this, so he doesn’t know what to think about this, “Just stop flirting with me.”

“Alright. I’m not usually like that, anyway. Just something about you makes me want to keep flirting with you.” Woohyun says. Myungsoo doesn’t know if that’s good or bad and whether he should be happy about it or not.

“Isn’t that also a flirt?” Myungsoo asks because for him it still sounds like a flirt. Woohyun just chuckles at that, finding it amusing.

“Am I forgiven?” Woohyun asks him, making Myungsoo remembers about the problem of Woohyun lying to him again.

“No.” Myungsoo says, “You have to try harder.”

“Okay, Sir.”

Myungsoo thinks that this could be the start of something fun or the start of a disaster.

 


End file.
